GEORGE Murray promised wife Nicola that he would carry out the seven tasks on the list including set up a charity, do voluntary work and go to Lourdes.

WHEN Nicola Murray was told she had just two weeks to live, she made her husband George a list of things she wanted him to promise he would do.

Nicola, 34, who had a rare hereditary gene that caused her to develop cancer, wanted him to help others with the same gene.

She wanted him to go to Africa to do charity work.

She wanted him to go back to Lourdes, where they had first fallen in love.

She wanted him to return to America, to make his first trip to Rome, to play golf and to do something with his music.

Incredibly, three years after Nicola’s death to ovarian cancer, George has helped to set up the Nicola Murray Foundation, who have raised more than £200,000.

They are funding research at Edinburgh University into ovarian cancer and the genetic fault that led to her death.

He has spent six weeks helping orphans in Malawi. He has lit a candle in Nicola’s memory at Lourdes. He has bought the new golf clubs she wanted him to buy. He has been to New York and is planning a trip to Rome.

Music-wise, the talented singer-songwriter has set up a band who have just released their first album to raise funds for the Nicola Murray Foundation and another cancer charity who are close to their hearts.

George, 41, from Dunfermline, said: “Her illness was so aggressive, we had no time for Nicola to go anywhere she wanted to go or do things she wanted to do – instead she made a list for me.

“She would wake up at around 5am. I would be by her hospital bed and we would chat about everything.

“Those times were precious as it was just us, no one else was there. She told me I needed to live my life after she was gone.

“It wasn’t a physical, written list but instead it was little early morning pep talks about places I could go and things I could do.”

Language therapist Nicola and community education officer George had been together for 15 years before her death in April, 2010.

The couple were students when they met in 1995 while both working as hospital volunteers on a trip to Lourdes.

They married on Nicola’s birthday in the year 2000 and dreamed of starting a family.

But they were shocked when tests revealed Nicola had a genetic syndrome known as HNPCC, which increases the risk of ovarian, womb or bowel cancer at a young age.

George Murray in Malawi

Nicola and her two sisters had tests for the gene after their dad’s death from bowel cancer at the age of 56. While her sisters did not have the gene, Nicola’s results came back positive.

She agreed to attend hospital every two years for tests to pick up any early signs of the disease. But she fell ill during Christmas 2009 and was diagnosed with an aggressive form of ovarian cancer in January 2010.

While she initially appeared to respond well to treatment, the speed her illness progressed shocked all who knew her.

George said: “When Nicola started to feel unwell – very tired and a feeling of being full up as soon as she started to eat – she knew she had to get checked out. She also found a lump on her tummy that seemed to get bigger.

“We were all devastated when she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.

“She had surgery and started chemotherapy and everyone thought she was getting better. Then Nicola phoned one morning and said the doctor wanted to speak to us.

“I dashed in to the hospital, as did Nicola’s family, and we were told the treatments were no longer working.

“They said Nicola had two weeks to live – just like that. We all went to pieces but, within minutes, she was the strong one.”

Over the next 12 days, Nicola did everything from plan her funeral to make the list of things for George to do.

George said: “We were lucky to have those final days, where we knew what was happening and we could talk about a lot of things. Nicola was so inspiring and we shared a lot of laughter.

“It was her idea about setting up a charity that would raise awareness of HNPCC and ovarian cancer and fund research into it that could save lives.

“She also put together the list for me. Some of the things are very personal and will go with me to the grave but others were things like buying new golf clubs.

“We had talked about doing charity work in Africa, which I did. She wanted me to return to Lourdes and I’ve done that too. She wanted me to go back to America, which I’ve now done.

“And she wanted me to do something with my music, which is what I am doing now with my friend Stuart Henderson and some other pals.”

Like George, drummer Stuart recently lost his young wife to cancer. Nurse Ruth Henderson, from Kirkcaldy, Fife, was just 32 when she died from sarcoma – a rare cancer of the soft connective tissue.

George, Stuart and five friends have put together a band, Eastwood, and released an album. They dedicated it to the memory of Nicola and Ruth. Money raised is being split between the Nicola Murray Foundation and Sarcoma UK.

One of the tracks on the album, White Feather, is about the talks George had with Nicola in the days before her death.

George said: “Nicola and Ruth were inspiring women who did a lot to help others. All the proceeds of our album will help others in their memory.”

HNPCC is caused by a fault in one of the genes known as the mismatch repair genes. These genes normally help to prevent cancer.

HNPCC may be suspected in families with close blood relatives who have developed bowel, womb and ovarian cancer over several generations. They may have inherited a faulty copy of one of the mismatch repair genes.

HNPCC, known as Lynch syndrome, is the most common cause of hereditary bowel cancer – five in every 100 cases are linked to HNPCC.

But women with HNPCC also have an increased risk of developing ovarian and womb cancer.

Doctors believe knowing about the risk and having regular screening if you are diagnosed with HNPCC syndrome may help to prevent some cancers and detect others early when they are curable.

Professor Charlie Gourley, of the University of Edinburgh Cancer Research Centre, said: “We are extremely grateful to the Nicola Murray Foundation for the funding that has allowed us to complete the work to date.

“We’re also grateful for the ongoing funding which we hope will enable us to identify specific treatments for patients with HNPCC-deficient ovarian cancer.”

Nicola's list:

(1) Set up a charity to fund research into ovarian cancer and HNPCC syndrome. George and other members of Nicola’s family and friends, including her sister Caroline and brother-in-law Steven Turnbull, set up the Nicola Murray Foundation to fund research into, and raise awareness of, HNPCC-related ovarian cancer. They have already raised £200,000 and are funding a research project in partnership with Edinburgh University.

(2) Volunteer with a charity in Africa. Last year, George travelled to Malawi where he spent six weeks helping orphans.

(3) Buy new golf clubs. George has bought the clubs.

(4) Travel to Rome. George plans to travel to the Italian capital in the near future. Nicola had visited the city and always spoke of taking George to see the famous sights.

(5) Return to America. George and Nicola loved a trip they took to the States and always talked of returning. Nicola asked George to make sure he went back to the country they loved. George returned to New York in February.

(6) Return to Lourdes. Nicola and George met while working as hospital volunteers on a pilgrimage to Lourdes. While Nicola had returned there in the years since they met, George had been unable to go. But he went back last year and lit a candle in her memory.

(7) Do something with your music. George has set up a band, Eastwood, who have released an album.